Travel by car from uk to Los gollardos with two dogs advice please.

Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 1:52pm

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Posts: 18

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Hello, this is my first post, although I read it regularly. We’ve had a caravan at Los gollardos since 2019. With covid restrictions etc, we’ve only managed to fly over a handful of times so far. The idea is to get away from the uk damp, cold winter weather as I suffer terribly with arthritis and compressed nerves in my spine. The dry weather helps a lot, also seeing the sunshine!☀️I know it’s not that warm during winter but it sure beats the uk’s weather patterns lately! Are there any drier or warmer places than this from November to January in Andalusia area please?

My main question is: what would be the best way or route to take if driving over, with two dogs, preferably taking the channel tunnel, obviously we’d need a few nights accommodation with the dogs en route. Anybody done this journey before and have found the best/favourite route? We’d like to see the countryside of France, but also don’t want to waste any time getting our dogs to our caravan and relax! Also would rather not to do it all on motorways , unless they’re scenic. I’m after a straight forward scenic route with decent stops en route, and maybe a few sites on the way🤷‍♂️. We’ll be leaving mid October for 10-12 weeks.

Any tips appreciated to help the journey enjoyable and not too hard work. If we could do it using up to 3 nights accommodation would be ideal !

Thanks in advance. 👍☀️🌴

Richard and Bali.

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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 2:32pm

JT47

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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 2:32pm

We found this link really helpful

https://about-france.com/routes-from-calais.htm

Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 11:57pm

Allan813

Posts: 5

Location: Pulpí

Joined: 27 Feb 2022

Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 11:57pm

Hello. I drive 2 days one night stop with a dog from south east England to Spain Pilar de Javaria near Terreros , not far from where you are going .Best route is through the west of France take the tunnel through the Pyrenees study the maps of France and Spain avoid motorways and tolls also use a Sat Nav , and google maps on a mobile phone is also good. Useful to have maps and also to do a route planner on the internet..

No traffic jams, busy roads or road works or pot holes.

If you have a Spanish euro account you can subscribe to bip & go which means you can drive straight through tolls .

I stop every couple of hours to walk the dog for a few minutes and offer the dog water, you will find a dog will not really want to eat whilst travelling.

For the one night stop I stop at a public service station and just recline the car seat back and cover up with a travel blanket. Hope this general information is useful

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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 8:47am

David64

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Location: Almería

Joined: 13 Jun 2021

Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 8:47am

Hi there,

We’re about to do it for the first time so this isn’t from experience….I’ve gone for a much more leisurely trip for several reasons & rather than drive until tired then use Booking.com to find somewhere, I’ve booked in advance the Holiday Inn Express in Rouen and Bordeaux and the Ibis in Zaragoza…all pet friendly, very cheap to stay in.

From what I’ve seen, a lot of people only have two overnight stays but I’ve taken a more chilled, less hours in the car approach.

Hope that helps!

Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 11:20am

Glenbro

Posts: 26

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Location: Vera Playa

Joined: 12 Sep 2019

Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 11:20am

We did the western route through France with our lab.via the shuttle, in May. Very scenic, quiet roads and plenty of "Aires,-" rest stops, along the route to stop and walk the dog. Stopped at Best Western, Poitiers, dog friendly and good grassed area for the dog, then on skirting Bordeaux , crossing the Pyrenees, reaching Pamplona. Another over night stop there on the edge of the town with access to an open walking area, then across via Zaragossa and Valencia. Good luck

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:54am

AndrewS

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Joined: 24 Jul 2019

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:54am

We travel down using the Chunnel and last time avoided all motorways in France and kept to the minor roads. We stayed East of Paris and drove through the champagne region. Most of the small villages are ghost towns now but still pretty and the roads very quiet. We didn’t really plan a route but used Booking.com for dog friendly hotels and guest houses. No problem. Once we got into Spain we got on the motorways and blasted down. Someone here recommended getting our UK dog a EU pet passport instead of the new vet certificate. We did and it’s by far cheaper.

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:35am

Gringo

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Joined: 5 Jul 2021

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 9:35am

AndrewS wrote on Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:54am:
We travel down using the Chunnel and last time avoided all motorways in France and kept to the minor roads. We stayed East of Paris and drove through the champagne region. Most of the small villages are ghost towns now but still pretty and the roads very quiet. We didn’t really plan a route but...

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... used Booking.com for dog friendly hotels and guest houses. No problem. Once we got into Spain we got on the motorways and blasted down. Someone here recommended getting our UK dog a EU pet passport instead of the new vet certificate. We did and it’s by far cheaper.

Don’t know where in the UK you are but a friend of mine lives on Tyneside and has a place in the South of France and he uses the overnight ferry to Amsterdam and drives off fresh in the morning